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SOUTHERN URBANISM

@southernurbanism.bsky.social
234 followers 241 following 710 posts

A digital magazine committed to building better cities in the South. Producer of the Better Cities Film Festival. Subscribe via southernurbanism.org

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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
From medieval cathedrals to generative AI, the tools we choose reveal what we are. Brick was imperfect and we shifted to CMU for efficiency. AI is the latest iteration of this shift. open.substack.com/pub/southernurban…
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Cities can be victims of their own success. The key is to duplicate local successes through local practice and tradition. Failures to do so result in "futureless, unreformable over-development". Drawing by #LeonKrier, 1946-2025
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Southern Urbanism has exciting news! Announcing Jaime Izurieta as our next Editor. This is Jaime's essay on his vision for Southern Urbanism, and the path forward for our magazine. Link in Bio. open.substack.com/pub/southernurban…
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Modernism claims to be things it is not and reframes reality to serve its own purposes. Drawing by #LeonKrier, 1946-2025
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
What people want and what architecture schools train designers to build are not the same thing. Drawing by #LeonKrier, 1946-2025
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Cheap buildings may cost less to build. But they can be more expensive to maintain, and less likely to stand the test of time. Drawing by #LeonKrier, 1946-2025
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Great storefront game. Plants make all the difference.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Societies accumulate meaning and value. Or societies accumulate trash. The choice is yours. Drawing by #LeonKrier, 1946-2025
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
New Townbuilder's Podcast episode: It's a candid look at what it takes to build a place that outlasts the developer who made it. #newurbanism #NTBA #urbandevelopment #placemaking #oklahoma Listen here ▶️ loom.ly/saY0MgE
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Extractive, out-of-scale development of city centers can be parasitic. Incremental development via infill can be additive. Drawing by #LeonKrier, 1946-2025
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
If this is your city's use table, you're doing zoning wrong. via @kronbergUA #atlanta #reform
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"If we chase novelty, whether it’s through a shiny new plan or a shiny new machine, we neglect the simple, traditional principles that we know build great cities. And we neglect the hard work we need to do to get there. Read the latest essay by Billy Cooney: 👉viabio
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The artwork coming out of the New Urbanism is unrivaled. Here is a lecture featuring Chuck Bohl, James Dougherty, and Victor Dover, co-authors of Art of the New Urbanism, on how their new book celebrates these great artists. youtu.be/XY_3LmHpW9g?si=hBPX9EFPl7H… @umiami
youtu.be
The Art of the New Urbanism Lecture, Alumni Honors, and Book Signing
UM SoA
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Today we published a new contrarian essay on data centers by Jamie Izurieta: 🔗➡️ bio "When politicians and activists protest data centers, they are often protesting the infrastructure that keeps ordinary life running." "People have always campaigned to stop technology."
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This #MissingMiddle Housing graphic by @opticos has proven transformative to citybuilding. What other graphics have had a large influence on you? #housing #affordability #cities
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This old lecture by @andresduany--to the #Charleston Board of Architectural Review--is full of great little nuggets, from rehabbing old firetrucks to the cultural attractiveness of wasting time. youtu.be/PWHTA2O9T2A?si=-gJhcXJHZGR…
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Andrés Duany - City of Charleston B.A.R. Review - March 13, 2015
Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The University of Miami has one of the best Urban Design programs in the country. What other schools offer degrees in this specific field? @umiami
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
What can the Dutch teach us about building sane suburbs in the modern era? youtu.be/nImFJ7KKjAo?si=YyE10dGB0Yt… #cycling #pedestrian #humandesign
youtu.be
The Fascinating Human-Scale Urbanism of Dutch Suburbia
Oh The Urbanity!
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
SITE PLAN SATURDAY | I’on | Vincent & Geoff Graham "I'On is a traditional neighborhood #development on a 250-acre parcel. The Plan includes a continuous public waterfront and marshfront, a wide range of dwelling sizes and types, 'live/work' units, and a corner store."
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The new urban transect. Most of what is built in America today is T3 suburbia. Traditional urbanism is generally T4 & T5. #newurbanism #architecture #cityplanning
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Check out this video explainer of #newurbanism by @citybeautiful: loom.ly/qf21z-s
youtube.com
What is New Urbanism?
City Beautiful
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
A century of neighborhood evolution. via Congress for the @newurbanism
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Final Essay in the Series: American Land Use at 250 America’s greatest act of faith has always been planning for futures that don’t exist yet, and trusting the next person to build better. The map is not yet finished. Final essay: www.southernurbanism.org/publish/po…
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
AMERICAN LAND USE at 250: Essay 4, Nick Larkins From Jefferson’s yeoman farmers to the mythic cowboy, America’s soul has always lived in this balance. Suburbia tried to split the difference, and failed to deliver on any of the founding values. 🔗 Full essay loom.ly/hu-pxLA
southernurbanism.org
Cowboys and Industry
The health of American culture depends on building both a healthy cityscape and a healthy countryside, the two halves of the human habitat.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
AMERICAN LAND USE at 250: Essay 3 What if the most American thing about cities isn’t the buildings— but the imagination it takes to keep re-drawing them? Because being American means never being satisfied with the current map. 🔗 Full essay www.southernurbanism.org/publish/po…
southernurbanism.org
Seeing What Isn’t There
How Imagination Shaped Me and My Country
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
AMERICAN LAND USE at 250 (Essay 2, by Eli Smith): In this new essay, Elijah Smith explores how mid-20th century urban planning traded messy, tolerant, evolving neighborhoods for utopian visions of perfection — and how we’re still paying the price. 🔗 Full essay in bio / link in
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
SITE PLAN SATURDAY | Trillith | Dan Cathy, Lew Oliver "Trilith is a new town for about 5,000 people, created using the principles of #NewUrbanism. About 30% of single-family residents and about 70% of multifamily units are associated with Trilith Studios."
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
This November marks the centenary of Village of Euclid v. Ambler — the ruling that constitutionalized modern zoning and changed everything. Was Euclid a necessary evil or a foundational mistake? 👇 Read Aaron Lubeck’s timely essay 👉viaBio #ZoningReform #Housing #Urbanism #SCOTUS #YIMBY
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
🚨 New Southern Urbanism Series: "American Land Use at 250" 🚨 Our five columnists examine how the human spirit shapes American towns and continue our founding legacy as the country approaches its 250th birthday. What lessons from history should guide our next chapter? link via bio
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Happy birthday to one of the greatest artists behind the new urbanism movement, Architect Dhiru Thadani.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
I AM a house. CALL ME a house. Great architecture speaks for itself. And Krier believed that traditions work for a reason. “Lessons from Léon: Krier on North Carolina” is our series honoring Léon Krier (1946–2025).
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
June's events! Join us this afternoon (Tuesday, June 2nd) at 4pm EST for Happy Hour with our columnists! We'll be discussing columnist Billy Cooney's recent article "Where Did the Planners Go?" You can find the livestream at southernurbanism.org
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
"The things we build are reflections of the things we love. Our built environment, and the things which fill it, are shoddy because as a people, we have largely forgotten our heart." Columnist Nick Larkins writes. Read his article today at the link in our bio.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
"In 1906, San Francisco lost 60% of its housing stock in a single morning. Somehow, there was no ‘housing crisis.’ Yet the city was able to house everyone, fully rebuild its housing stock, and recover its population inside three years." Read Jaime Izurieta's column today at the link in our bio.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
SITE PLAN SATURDAY | 3rd Street Cottages | Ross Chapin "This was the first contemporary ‘#pocketneighborhood’ that set the stage for all the others that followed, confirming 8 smaller #cottages have less impact than 4 large homes on the same site and that there is a market for cottages." #design
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
"Politics in a blue city are strange because struggles for power don’t unfold through policy, but through vibes, and by extension, language. Factions seeking narrative control during elections use buzzwords to convince citizens that they are progressive." Read today at the link in our bio.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Townbuilding is the process of building something from nothing. #seaside #SeasideFL #newurbanism
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
May's events! Join us this afternoon (Tuesday, May 4th) at 4pm EST for Happy Hour with our columnists! We'll be discussing columnist Nick Larkins's recent article "City on a Hill: A Critique of Commodified Communities and a Plea for Real Ownership." You can find it at southernurbanism.org
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
On the surface, the Fenton development in Cary, NC looks like it has all the things an urbanist would want. It's mixed-use, fairly walkable, and has a town square. Southern Urbanism Columnist Nick Larkins argues that it's missing something: ownership. Read the post today at the link in our bio.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
The young talent associated with the #CNU are members of the "Emerging New Urbanists", which is now led by Sophie McAdara, a planner and amazing watercolor artist from Northwest Arkansas. If you are young and care about cities, join the ENU today. loom.ly/H1UIifY
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
We have new writers starting next week. And new film events are coming soon. Southern Urbanism is committed to building better cities in the South. Subscribe today to support our community. Link via bio #urbanism #housing #design #trades #carpentry
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
"There are a lot of people who hate homebuilders. Or, more specifically, there are a lot of terminally online people who seem obsessed with hating homebuilders. Why do some people build while others stand on the sidelines and sneer?" Read more from Aaron Lubeck's article at loom.ly/eh3MQfQ
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
"You might assume that squeezing small units onto small lots might end up feeling claustrophobic, but a few simple design principles can actually lead to housing that is welcoming and feels spacious." Read more about how clever design can lead to incredible places at loom.ly/oATOTAg
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Suburban site plans are totally fixable. @CivicbyDesign uses principles of urban design to turn a cul-de-sac sprawl into a walkable utopia.
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
"Seventeen students, strangers only minutes before, gathered for our first Summer Studio. Though most originated in the suburbs, none chose to remain there." Read more about Will McCollum and the Citymakers Collective at loom.ly/0W_dOuA
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
"What type of project can deliver workforce housing options, without subsidy, and do so without requiring rezoning and variances—all while retaining the existing houses and as many trees as possible?" Read more about Eric Kronberg & Phil Veasley's solution at loom.ly/rEC9TYA
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
"Faith-based housing is not just about building homes that are affordable. It is also about strengthening community by offering better places that people enjoy living in. Well-designed houses and sites are crucial for accomplishing that mission." Read more at loom.ly/p8YHdoE
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
What are the characteristics of walkable neighborhoods? Read Dhiru Thadani's checklist of the 13 most important at open.substack.com/pub/southernurban…
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Jane Jacobs identified four critical ingredients for vibrant urbanism: The need for density, varied buildings, mixed uses, and short blocks. The good news is that these principles still apply. The bad news is that Southern cities are failing to fulfill all four. Read at loom.ly/tFv_-as
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SOUTHERN URBANISM @southernurbanism.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
"The fight for more socially vibrant cities won’t end with a zoning rewrite. At the end of the day, that’s not all we are fighting for. We are fighting for a culture that prioritizes equity, accessibility, safety, and even beauty." Read Billy Cooney's article today
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